We are back with a new season of At the Mic / Au micro, ACCA’s arts and cultural industry podcast! We are delighted to kick off this season with a conversation with Steve Bellamy, CEO of the Confederation Centre for the Arts on their exciting and multifaceted major rejuvenation project “Shared Voices”, underway now in Charlottetown, PEI.
Steve Bellamy has an extensive background in the arts and education sector having lived and worked across Canada in the music business, education, and executive administration. Among his accomplishments, Steve produced more than 200 commercial music albums, including some Juno winners. Before he became CEO of the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, he was Dean of Creative and Performing Arts at Humber College in Toronto.
In this episode, Steve shares the project’s goals which include enhancing arts education, creating new Canadian content, and reaffirming the Centre’s role as a national memorial to Confederation. In addition to renovations which will update their existing facilities, they are renovating the former provincial library and archives space into a Canadian Leadership Institute, an Arts Academy, and an Arts Innovation Hub.
Steve outlines what is involved in undertaking a project of this scope – the extensive consultation and planning process to engage with local, national and indigenous communities, the partnerships with various stakeholders, building their team capacity, the financial strategies and some of the challenges that they have overcome.
Don’t miss this inspiring talk about a major cultural infrastructure project being successfully undertaken in 2025.
The Confederation Centre was built in 1964 as Canada’s national memorial to the Fathers of Confederation. It has grown into a place where people can learn about how our country was formed and how it continues to grow and change, always with the arts at the heart. The Centre aims to inspire Canadians to consider our country’s past, present, and future through performing arts, visual arts, interactive learning experiences, plus gathering for discussion and forums.
ACCA would like to thank Steve for this fascinating conversation, and for giving us a glimpse into how the Confederation Centre continues to evolve.
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLSiIV_60h0
Listen in browser: https://at-the-mic.castos.com/episodes/inside-the-confederation-centres-shared-voices-project-with-steve-bellamy
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/inside-the-confederation-centres-shared-voices/id1647263308?i=1000725708631
For more information on the Centre and the Shared Voices project, please go here: